Monday, June 14, 2010

Game Until It Hurts

What a wonderful weekend. You know you’ve been doing some real hardcore gaming when you find yourself physically and mentally exhausted come Sunday night.

On Friday, one of the Watchfires & Thrones players and his wife, another recently-contacted gamer, and me got together for some tabletop games of the non-roleplaying variety. The evening finally closed down around 1 A.M., but it was fairly educational in regards to new, unplayed games.

I discovered, for instance, that I’m some sort of dominoes savant despite not having played the game since I was in short pants. Of course, there was much less trash talking back then too.

Apples to Apples, a game which I’ve often seen on the shelves of numerous stores but never played, turned out to be a great way to get to know your friends and the twisted logic that runs their day-to-day existence. Scoring points for sheer irony also helps make the game a real winner.

The only loser of the bunch for me was Set, which I initially chalked up to not having the necessary mental sharpness to make sets of cards based on attributes they either share or lack. Two-and-a-half hour’s sleep in the previous forty-eight does not a Set master make. The more I think about it, though, I come to realize that my lack of enthusiasm for the game is based on its lack of strategy. The game is all about skill and experience, and there’s no way for an unlucky run or the random unpredictable actions or planning of a rank amateur to upset the course of the game. In the end, it breaks down to four people staring at a bunch of cards and occasionally saying “set!” That’s not my bag, man.

Despite that little drawback, the night was a great one and we’ll definitely be meeting again sometime for more gaming that allows me to actually participate rather than adjudicate. Of course, the night couldn’t end without the subject of a second irregular roleplaying night coming up and being tentatively slated for later on in the summer. That’s a good thing; I’ve got more ideas than the Labyrinth Lord game can handle and I’d like to run a few up the proverbial flagpole before they all die intellectual crib deaths.

Saturday was mostly chores and prep for Sunday’s game, but a gross neglect on my part was addressed. The same player who hosted Friday’s shenanigans had previously asked me about a used bookstore in my hometown. I had to admit that I simply had never been inside the place, although it was often on my mind to investigate it. On Friday, he reported that he and his wife had visited the place and discovered a wonderland of used paperback books. They were planning on visiting the store again on Saturday and offered to meet me there.

Let’s just say I’ve been kicking myself for the last two days as punishment for not going there sooner. I picked up a Ramsey Campbell collection of his Cthulhu Mythos short stories, the third Thieves World book, Three Hearts and Three Lions, and The Forever War for under ten bucks. I would have walked out with much, much more, but the slush pile of books next to my bed prohibits me from buying any more novels until I work through the backlog. But I shall return.

Sunday was Watchfires & Thrones day and, after having to cancel last week’s game due to a failed save vs. poison incurred by some undercooked beef, I was anxious to get back into the swing of things. The game flowed and it was one of those games where much territory was explored and a few fights got crammed in before the time ran out. Unfortunately, our longest-surviving PC is now no more, having proved the adage that it’s best not to play with electricity unless one is wearing rubber boots.

Those of you who read the Archive of the Rotted Moon have no doubt noticed that most of the game recaps feature photos taken during the actual game sessions. It certainly is nice to have a Minister of Propaganda for your gaming group and Rob (also known as Fandomaniac on the OD&D Discussion board) provides photographic evidence of each week’s meet to help entice others to join in on the fun. You can tell which weeks he had to miss because we don’t have pictures of it.

This week, however, introduced a new aspect—video. Rob recorded a few minutes of game play during a fight against the Alien-esque Tomb Herd Broodmares and a snippet or two of that might soon be appearing online. "I Hit It With My Axe" we are not but feel free to check it out once it’s live and nitpick my referee style. If I had known we we’re going to be videotaping the session, I would have shaved.

All in all, it was a great weekend. I’m still feeling creatively drained from the last three days, so I’ll be recouping and trying to get a few blog posts written today to get myself caught up before it’s back to work on the book.

Who's to Blame

Despite having never been a professional adventurer, Michael Curtis has nonetheless deciphered cryptic writings, handled ancient maps and texts, ridden both a camel and an elephant, fallen off a mountain, participated in a mystical rite, and discovered the resting places of lost treasures. He can be contacted at poleandrope @ gmaildotcom